At the Nsawam Medium Security Prison in Nsawam, Eastern Region, a group of nine Narcotics Control Commission (NACOC) officers and twenty Ghana Prisons Service operations officers have started a security search.
The goal of the exercise, which was conducted on Sunday, April 14, 2024, was to locate and remove illicit substances from the premises. However, no narcotic drug was found inside or outside the facility at the conclusion of the search.
Five security dogs and the NACOC personnel visited the prison complex. Every place that prisoners could have access to, including cells, workplaces, classrooms, churches, mosques, and hospitals, was searched.
It was also extended to the prison’s exterior wall to search for any possible hidden narcotics. After the sniffer dogs were let loose in all areas of the institution, including the cells, not a single trace of narcotic drug was found.
Assistant Director of Prisons Andrews Osei, the second-in-command of the Nsawam Medium Security Prison, thanked the NACOC officers for the exercise. He gave the team the assurance that the facility’s officers would keep doing their regular searches to make sure that illegal substances and other items did not enter the prison environment.
Narcotic drug usage in public has been a public health concern for some time now, primarily affecting young people, according to NCO Bernard Tetteh, the team commander and head of NACOC’s K9 Unit.
According to him, the majority of its users displayed symptoms that had a detrimental impact on their mental health, including anxiety, paranoia, anxiousness, mental instability, increased irritability, and wrath.
He emphasized, “In light of the widespread belief that prisons serve as havens for the production of illegal drugs like narcotics, this exact exercise aimed to search and retrieve narcotic drugs within the prisons facility.”
He expressed his gratitude to the Nsawam Medium Security Prison’s administration for their efficient cooperation in providing access for the exercise. In addition, he praised the Prisons Service’s management for maintaining a drug-free environment in spite of the widespread belief that illicit drugs are becoming more prevalent in prisons.
It is anticipated that NACOC will expand the exercise to include all correctional facilities nationwide.
